1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of faceting machine accessories, and more particularly, to a brush gate for use with a faceting machine splash pan that prevents slurry and dust from exiting the splash pan through a sidewall thereof when the dop spindle is positioned through the sidewall of the splash pan.
2. Background of the Invention
Known to those skilled in the art, faceting machines are devices that allow the user to place and polish facets onto a mineral specimen, also referred to herein as a “workpiece.” Faceting machines may range in sophistication from primitive to highly-refined, and highly expensive, commercially available machines. Faceting equipment is typically divided into diamond and non-diamond capable equipment, and is further divided into industrial faceting and custom/hobby faceting equipment. Although the apparatus disclosed herein are described with particular reference to non-diamond, non-commercial equipment, it is envisioned that the principles disclosed herein may be advantageously applied to other equipment types and fields to provide the benefits described herein.
Conventionally, faceting machines in their most simple form include a mast/head assembly, lapidary disk or “lap”, lap spindle, driving motor, drip assembly, and controls, among other components. To place and polish a facet onto a specimen, the specimen is attached to the dop of the head assembly, and through angle, rotation and height adjustments of the head, the specimen is lowered into contact with the lap until the desired facet has been ground. As specimen material is ground away, slurry including ground material and fluid from the drip assembly is removed from the lap by centrifugal forces generated by the spinning lap, and captured within a stationary splash pan circumferentially surrounding the lap. Captured slurry is then directed downward by the force of gravity and the shape of the splash pan through a drain and attached hose system, and is ultimately discarded.
Ideally, the splash pan has a sidewall height extending vertically beyond (i.e. “above”) the working surface of the lap in order to capture slurry leaving the lap in the substantially horizontal and slightly above directions. While interference between the elevated sidewall height of the splash pan and the dop spindle is generally not an issue when faceting at lesser angles, when faceting at 90 degrees or about thereto (i.e. the dop spindle is positioned about parallel to the working surface of the lap), interference of the dop spindle and the sidewall is an issue. To accommodate this interference between components, conventional splash pans include a solid gate that is removable as needed to allow the dop spindle to “pass through” or be received “within” the splash pan. When the components are not in interfering positions, the solid gate is installed on the splash pan to close the sidewall.
Under this arrangement, the dop spindle is unable to sealingly engage the clearance in the sidewall, and thus passageway is provided between the dop spindle and non-removable portions of the sidewall for slurry and dust to escape the splash pan during faceting, which is undesirable.
Further, conventional splash pan assemblies typically include a drain positioned in the bottom of the splash pan that is attached to a drain hose through a conventional fitting. The drain hose is then routed through the device to a drain or drainage storage tank. Disadvantageously, to clean the splash pan in conventional assemblies, the user is required to first raise the splash pan upward to detach the drain hose before the splash pan can be separated from the machine. This process can be laborious and time consuming as it is difficult to access the hose fitting, and upon reinstallation of the splash pan, the hose must be redirected through the machine along its required pathway.
Accordingly, to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art faceting machine designs, it would be desirable to both provide a splash pan gate arrangement that prevents slurry from escaping the splash pan when faceting at angles in which the dop spindle and sidewall of the splash interfere, and provide a splash pan drainage arrangement that allows the user to readily remove and clean the splash pan without having to detach and reconnect a drainage hose.